Albert a



(No Moc'lel.)

` A. A. ALLEN.

FOLDING BED.

Patented Peb. 6, 1883.

UNITED STATES t PATENT (MENGE.

ALBERT A. ALLEN, or JAcKsdN, MICHIGAN.

FOLDING BED.-

. i u a SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 271,760, datedFebruary 6l, 1883.

Application filed October 9, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom 'it may concern:

Beit known that l, ALBERT A. ALLEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Jackson, in the county of Jackson andState of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in,4 Folding Beds, of whichthe following is a specification, reference being Y had therein to theaccomyanying drawings.

`dinary hinge-joint at c.

Figure l is a perspective view of a hed embodyingmyimprovements.Fig.2isasectional View ofthe same when folded. Fig is a perspective viewof a slightly-modified form. Fig. 4 is aperspective ofone of the hingesdetached. Fig. 5is a perspective ofthe other style of hinge. Fig. 6illustrates the section of the spring combined withI the headboard. Fig.7 ,is a transverse section of the bed, the legs under the head-board andthe brace attached thereto being seen in elevation.

ln the drawings I have shown the bed-bottom detached and so constructedthat it can be applied to any ordinary bed. I have also shown it asprovided with legs at the foot and the head, and with foot-boardandhead-board,

'in order to illustrate the various capabilities of the bottom proper.lEach side rail of l'the bottom shown in Figs. l and 2 consists of three`parts---a 'head-section, A,a footsection, B, and an intermediatesection, A. These three parts are united by two hinges, one hinge beingconstructed somewhat differently from the other. The head rail-sectionand the "intermediate one arejoined by a hinge, which consists of twobottom plates, C C, which are Y comparatively longyso` as to give astrong bar- 'ing or support o n the lower side of the railsections,these plates being joined by an or- To the side of one of therail-sections there are secured strong bracing-plates D D. These looselyoverlap the ends of the opposing rail-section, and project sutiieientlyfar along the sides ofthe same to provide a strong lateral bracing, soas to prevent any outward or inward springing of the side railsat thehinging-points. Preferably these bracing-plates are formed, as shown,integrally with one of the bottom plates G,they being stamped ont of thesame sheet of metal from which the bottom plateis made.l Instead ofthis, oneot` the bracing-plates may he formed with one of the bottomplates and However, the same the other with the other. end can beaccomplished by having the bracing-plates formed separately from thebottom plates, and in that case, also, one may be carried by one sectionof the rail, and the other by theother section. wThe foot-section B andtheintermediate section, A', arejoiued together by a hinge of a modifiedcharacter. It has bottom elongated plates, C 0, similar to those vabovedescribed, and overlapping bracingplates D D. plates C C are bentdownward Y to a considerable degree to form inclined platesG2 C2, comingtogether at a suitable distance below t-he bottom ofthe rail and joinedby a hinge atc. 'lhe overlapping bracing-plates D D are shown as carriedby one of the downward-inclined plates G2, though one of them may be, ifpreferred, carried by one of these plates G2 andthe other by the other.They are fastened by screws, rivets, or otherwise to the side-railsection, as shown at c. When both are carried by a single plate G2support straps or braces G3 are attached to the other dowuwardlyinclinedpart C2, and 4also to the rail-section, as shown. These operatetoprevent the plate U2 from bendingor springing upward. vIn this case theoverlapping bracing-plates D operate not only to give a lateral bracingto the opposing ends ofthe rail-sections, but also furnish verticalsupport for the downwardly-inclined bottom part C2 to which they areattached.

A hinge of the forni last 4described is considerably stron ger than oneof the other sort, inasmuch as the pivot of the hinge is carried to apoint considerably away from the upper edges of the-opposingrail-sections, so that the parts of `the hinge have a lower leverage forresisting the strain from the weight upon the bed. Moreover, bythrowingythe hinging-line thus considerably below the bottom of therailsections the bed can be folded compactly in a Way to be hereinafterdescribed. When the rail-sections thus hinged are provided withfootboard and head-board, and with legs, the the ends of the railsextend entirely to the ends ofthe bed. The head-board E is hinged at eto the upper edge of the head rail-sections, the outer face of thehead-board being preferably ln this case, however, theV IOO ' flush withthe ends of the rails. In a similar 'looked in any desired position, andso when the bed is being moved there is a constant danger of thehead-board being thrown back and forth. The spring at oneor both ends ispivotally secured, preferably by. forming an eye or eyes on the springand passing screws or pins through said eyes, the connection be'- ingloose enough to allow the head-board to move. When the head-board ismoved in either direction there is exerted a longitudinal strain uponthe spring, but not a lateral strain.` I is a similar spring, combinedwith the footboard and loot rail-section. It will be seen thatthegreatest'tension of the spring is exerted when the-head-boardorfoot-board is at an angle of about forty-tive degrees, and that theleast tension is exerted when either ofthe boards is at either itsuppermost or at its lowermost po` sition. (See Fig. 6.) By forming thesprings G and F' and attaching them as described and shown they permitthe head and foot boards to be folded down close upon the yside rails,either when the bed is set up for use or when folded for storage ortransportation, thus greatly increasing its convenience.

G G represent the legs at the head ot' the bed, preferably connected bymeans ot' crossbar ora brace, El. Heretofore the legsat the heads offolding beds ot' this character have been commonly formed with orattached rigidly to the head-board, and those at the foot tothefoot-board. When so made it has been necessary to suspend the ends ofthe side rails upon the supporting parts by means of a simple hinge, andthese supporting devices have almost invariably been found insufficientto Ahold the weightthat is ordinarily placed upon the bed. I hinge thelegs to the inner faces of the side sections, and am therefore enabledto provide them with pivot bolts or screws of as great strength as maybe necessary, it being possible to use pivots much larger in diameterthan can be employed with the ordinary hinge. Moreover, the foot-framecan be folded entirely inside of the side rails, so that when the bed isclosed up the footframe shall occu` py the same plane as said siderails, and therefore the article canbe made much more com pact than whenthe feet and head board are connected together.

H' is a brace of peculiar shape and pivoted snugly against the face ofone of the legs G G. Itllas a stop-piece, h, projecting upwardly, to

prevent its being thrust outward too far, and a bearing-piece, h',adapted to be placed under and. to bear against the under side of theside rail. e From an examination ot' Fig. 7 it will be seen that thepivot around which the brace H swings is situated at a point inside thevertical plane ofthe stop-piece h when the latter is in position againstthe inner edge ot' the side rail. By thus pivoting the brace and byproviding it with the stop-piece l1. and bearing-piece h itis heldfirmly in position against jars or knocks, which would otherwise throwit out of proper engagement with the side rail.

When the bed is in use the brace is swung outward into the positionshown in full linesin Fig. 7. When the leg-frame is to be folded up thebrace is iirst swung back into the position in dotted lines. G2 G? arelegs pivoted in a similar manner to the inside ot' the side rails at thefoot of the bed, they being provided with a cross-bar, H2, anda pivotedbrace, H3, substantially similar to those above described at the head.The'side rails are connected at the footV by means of a cross-piece, I,and at the head by another cross-piece, J, which I prefer 4to he in theform of a roller, as will be hereinafter described. Upon the frame thusconstructedI support a bottom canvas, K, which is attached at. the footVto the cross-piece I by and atthe head is secured to the cross-piece orroller J'. edges, in order that certain ends, to be set forth, can bereadily accomplished. When the part J is of the form'of a roller it maybe provided with an outwardly-extending 'square pintle or gudgeon, bymeans of which and a wrench the roller can be readily turned against anyordi nary amount of resistance. However, other means of revolving theroller maybe employed, -if desired, and, in fact, it can be readilyturned without any extra tool. jj are ratchet-wheels upon the ends yofthe roller, and with them are combined pawlsj, pivoted to the frame ofthe bottom.. A

When the bed is'to be folded up for transportation or for storing, theroller J can be utilized to take up all the slack ot' the canvas bottom,itthus assistingto produceatight, compact roll of the fabric, so thatthe latter shall vnot interfere with a complete package, the positionsof the parts whenl they are thus packed being clearly shown in Fig. Whenthefabric becomes slack from use or otherwise the tension can beincreased by bending upward the inner ends of the rail-sections, then'turning around somewhat the `rollerJ, fastening it by the pawls j, andthen bringing the inner ends of the rail-sections hack into theircompletely-open position, this process resulting, as will be readilyunderstood, in in creasing the tension ot' the fabric. The fabriccan'bethus made' very rigid,tand this can be done without the dangerthat has been expe- It has no support along the sidel IOO IIS

IZO

rienced with beds, as heretofore constructed,

of springing apart the parts of the frame. VThe bracing-plates DD at thehin'ging-points prevent, as said above, any outward or inward strainingofthe side rail-sections, making them` thatany desired'amount of tensioncan be imparted to the bottom fabric.

By hinging the rail-sections together the tension of the fabric can beincreased to any desired extent without requiring a wrench, for afterthe inner ends are moved up the roller can be turned by the hand.

v A vertical head-board may be used, substantially similar to thefoot-board, instead of the inclined one shown in Figs. land 2. Thisinclined one, however, I prefer for many purposes, especially when it isdesired to have one partserve lboth as head-board and as a rest -for thehead of the occupant. I have shown thesimplest andl cheapest form ofconstruction, though it may be varied somewhat. The one shown isconstructed of two side pieces, E E. a. top brace, E2, and a iieXiblefabric, E3. 'lhe loweredgc'of the end piece, c', is at an acute anglejtothe upperedge, c2, to'give the proper inclination `to the fabric E3,which is stretched across from side to side. 'To vary' Instead of thesolid pieces `E E' a skeleton frame of wire or strips may be used. i

What I claim is- 1. In a folding bed, the combination, with the dividedrail-sections, joined together by a hinge, of a base fabric forsupporting the bed, means for taking up-the fabric when the railsectionsare out of line, and the lateral braces situated by the sidesof thehinges and overlapping the opposing ends, whereby lateral springing ofthe rail-sections is prevented when they are being forced into line,substantially1 as set forth.

y 2. The combination, with the side rails, held rigidly apart anddivided into sections hinged together and provided with braces whichoverlap the opposing ends of the sections, of a head-board arranged, tofold down upon the -side rails, a foot-board arrangedto similarly fold,a leg-frame at the head pivotedto theinner sides of the side rails andarranged to fold down parallel to' the side rails,and a similarleg-frame pivotcd tothe foot ot' the bed, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, With the bottom frame formed in sections hingedtogether, of the fabric carried by said frame and the roller mountl edtherein, adapted to be rotated and to form two or more superposed layersof the fabric, and thus take up the slack of the fabric when the bed isfolded, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the head-"board, of the springs arranged,substantially as set forth, to hold the head-board up or to hold it downupon the side rails either when the hed is set up or when it is foldedfor transportation.

`5. The herein'described means of connecting the inner endsyof therail-sections of a fold-V ing bed-bottom, it consisting ot the plates CC, adapted to be secured to thebottoms of the side sections, andbracing-plates D I), formed the` sections, substantially as set forth.

6. In' a folding bed, the combination, with the side rails and the endcross-pieces, of the leg-frames respectively pivoted to the inner sidesof the endsV of the main frame, and the braces H', provided with thestops h, and bearingshoulders h', having the points at which they arepivoted to theinner faces ofthe legframes inside the vertical planes ofthe inner edges of the side rails, substantially as and for the purposesset forth. i

7. The combination, with the side rail of a folding bed, made in two ormore sections, of

a hinged joining-piece having the downwardlyextending supporting-piecesC2, to carry the hinge at a point below `the bottoms of the sid'e rail,substantially as and for the purposes set forth. s, 4

`8. In a folding bed, the combination, with `the side rails formed intwo or more sections,

rails, and the hinge c, to permit the inclined head to be folded withthe bed, substantially as set forth.

In testimony' whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

